JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — A prayer leader at the Islamic and Culture Center Bosniak has been charged with sex abuse and sexual exploitation by clergy.

Court records say 40-year-old Nermin Spahic has bonded out of jail.

Johnston police detective Tyler Tompkins said Wednesday that Spahic has been imam at the center. An imam is a prayer leader.

Tompkins says a friend of an 18-year-old woman called 911 to say the woman and her 42-year-old mother were being sexually abused during a ritual at their house. The mother later told officers she’d sought Spahic’s help for her daughter’s personal issues. The women say Spahic sexually abused them during the ceremony.

Spahic later denied sexually abusing them.

A phone listing for Spahic couldn’t be found. Online court records don’t list the name of his attorney.